From ‘Millionaire Matchmaker’ to the victory of his life

Querrey should put reality TV days behind him after ‘biggest win’ of his career, writes Simon Briggs

He is not the likeliest of assassins, Sam Querrey. His body language is diffident, and he can be a shaky closer, which may explain why he started the day as the second favourite with the bookmakers despite having a two-set lead.

But when the prize was within his reach, he seized it. The key was his world-beating serve, which he lands with the precision of a darts player.

“It’s definitely the biggest win I’ve ever had,” he said.

“On the stage that it was at, here at Wimbledon, to beat Novak, who is playing at such a high level for the past five years ... ”

With an average speed of 123mph yesterday, it is certainly not the fastest serve on the tour, but Querrey could use it to take an apple off the top of a boy’s head. That serve might as well have been an arrow to the heart of Djokovic, who saw 15 aces fly past in the decisive fourth set.

Even once the rallies had started, Querrey showed a welcome readiness to swing for the lines. “He didn’t want to stay too long in the rally,” said Djokovic. “He was aggressive and it paid off.”

Querrey, having had a two-set lead overnight, was generous about his opponent afterwards. “Today, he made me earn it. He’s not a guy that goes away. He made me come out and win those big points. Probably not the best he’s ever played, but not the worst.” On winning, the 6ft 6in Querrey lived up to the prediction of his friend and Davis Cup team-mate, John Isner, who predicted overnight that he would not be affected by the stress of sleeping on such a potentially seismic lead. “It’s a tough situation, but Sam is fine with it,” Isner told the New York Times. “He’s a goofy, happy-go-lucky guy. He’s not going to stress over it.”

While Querrey is a popular figure within American tennis, he is also seen as something of an under-achiever, in the light of his well-balanced game.

Just about every American male brings a terrific serve and a piledriving forehand to the court – this seems to be the legacy of their baseball-heavy upbringing – but Querrey’s backhand also has excellent feel. If he has a weakness it is his movement, which is

more languid than explosive. Off the court, Querrey gave American television viewers an insight into his character when he appeared on Millionaire Matchmaker – a sort of Blind Date for celebrities.

In one episode, he donned sunglasses, a sombrero and a medallion to perform his best dance moves, while a pair of professional dancers wearing horse’s heads held up a glossy sheet behind him.

To borrow a phrase from Marcus Willis early this week, it was not a standard Saturday.

Querrey admitted afterwards that he was more nervous filming the show than he ever is on the match court. The romance he established with a certain Kylie on that show dwindled away when she failed to respond to his text messages thereafter. Not that he is struggling for a date: he brought fashion model Abby Dixon with him to London for this tournament.

Will Querrey be motivated by this victory to storm up the rankings, or even into the final few days of this tournament? He has a winnable match against Nicolas Mahut next, but Roger Federer – a man he has never won a set against – is on the same side of the draw.

A more likely target than a Wimbledon final might be a return to the top 20, a level that Querrey has not reached since 2013.

His early ascent up the rankings was interrupted by a horrible injury sustained when he fell through a glass table, sending shards into his racket arm and leaving him with serious nerve damage. But that was seven years ago. Now, Querrey looks ready to make further positive headlines.